Page 109 of The Alpha Under My Bed

They exhaled, their scents shifting, submitting to what they had just witnessed.

I licked the mark clean, sealing it once more, reminding her body that there would never be anyone else.

Then I lifted my head, met the Leader’s gaze, and spoke the final words.

“I take what is mine and leave nothing behind.”

The Leader tilted his head, studying me through the mask. His voice, now laced with a hint of amusement, rang out. “Rise.”

I stood.

And the room—the fucking world—shifted.

The crowd nodded, some in approval, others in understanding, but all were forced to acknowledge one thing.

I wasn’t an exception.

I wasn’t a mistake.

I was exactly what they had been waiting for.

The Leader studied me, his voice low, edged with something almost like respect. “And now, Malcolm Cross—reject fate.”

I looked down at Ellie—my mate, my omega, the mother of my pup.

I felt the mark on her throat still throbbing, still alive with the power of my claim.

I thought of the ashes of my old pack. Of the scent match I had buried. Of everything that had brought me to this point.

And I said the words like a promise.

“I reject fate. I am Chosen. We are Chosen.”

The crowd exhaled in unison. The Leader nodded.

And I smiled.

Because I hadn’t just passed the initiation.

I had become it.